It happens every single year.
The weather finally breaks. After months of gray skies and cold mornings, you walk outside and feel that warmth on your face for the first time in what feels like forever. And something shifts in you. Suddenly you remember that you used to move. You used to run. You used to play basketball on Saturday mornings, or hit the tennis courts, or jog around the block before work. You used to feel good.
So you lace up. You head out. And somewhere between the first burst of energy and the halfway point of whatever you decided to do — something doesn’t feel right.
Maybe it’s a sharp pull along the back of your leg. Maybe it’s a pop in your knee that makes you stop mid-stride. Maybe it’s your shoulder, the one that’s been a little stiff all winter, suddenly screaming at you when you try to throw. Or maybe it’s your lower back — that familiar ache that always seems to find you at the worst possible time.
You’re not alone. Not even close.
Spring Is Peak Season for Sports Injuries — and Here’s Why
Here’s something most people don’t think about: your body has essentially been in slow mode since November.
You’ve been sitting more, moving less, and doing it all in layers of clothing that restrict your range of motion. Your muscles have shortened. Your connective tissue has tightened. Your joints haven’t been pushed through their full range of motion in months. And then April arrives — and you treat your body like nothing has changed.
The injuries we see most this time of year aren’t from freak accidents. They’re from perfectly predictable situations. A weekend warrior who went from the couch to the basketball court without so much as a single stretch. A runner who picked up right where they left off in October, at the same pace, the same distance, the same intensity. A pickleball player (yes, pickleball — it’s everywhere now) who jumped on the court without warming up and twisted their ankle on the very first pivot.
The body doesn’t forget that it’s been neglected. It just waits until you ask too much of it, and then it tells you — loudly.
The Injuries We See Walk Through Our Door Every Spring
At Suburban Orthopaedic Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, we treat a full range of musculoskeletal injuries. And every spring, certain ones show up with remarkable regularity:
Hamstring Strains. The hamstrings are one of the most commonly pulled muscles in the entire body, and they’re particularly vulnerable when you go from sitting all winter to sprinting in April. A hamstring strain can range from a mild tightness to a complete tear, and the difference matters enormously for how you treat it. Ignoring even a mild pull and continuing to “push through it” is how mild strains become major problems.
Knee Pain and Ligament Injuries. Running, jumping, cutting — all of it loads the knee in ways that a cold, under-prepared joint isn’t ready for. Patellofemoral pain (that aching behind the kneecap), IT band syndrome along the outer knee, and more serious ligament strains are common when someone ramps up activity too fast. We see a lot of people who came in saying “I just went for a jog” — and they did. It’s just that their body wasn’t ready for that jog yet.
Rotator Cuff Injuries and Shoulder Pain. The shoulder is a remarkable joint with an enormous range of motion — and that’s exactly what makes it vulnerable. Tennis, baseball, swimming, even just throwing a ball with your kid in the backyard after months of no overhead activity can inflame or tear the tendons of the rotator cuff. Don’t let the word “tear” scare you off from calling us. Partial tears and tendinitis are very treatable, especially when you come in early.
Ankle Sprains. The classic spring injury. Uneven terrain, a misstep on a path, a bad landing on the court. An ankle sprain sounds minor, but an untreated or undertreated sprain can leave you with chronic instability that makes the next sprain even more likely.
Lower Back Strains. The lower back is often the forgotten piece of any athletic warm-up — and it’s one of the first things to protest when you ask it to work hard without being prepared. Golfers, cyclists, and runners especially tend to show up with lower back issues in the spring.
The Thing Nobody Wants to Hear (But Needs To)
Stretching is boring. Warming up feels like wasted time when you’re excited to get going. We get it. Nobody drives to the park thinking “I really can’t wait to spend ten minutes doing leg swings.”
But here is what those ten minutes actually buy you: blood flow to the muscles you’re about to use, lubrication to your joints, and a gradual awakening of the neuromuscular system that tells your body what’s coming. Without that preparation, you’re essentially asking a cold engine to run at highway speed.
The result is strain. Inflammation. Pain that sidelines you for days or weeks, when the goal was to finally enjoy the spring you’ve been waiting for all winter.
When to Stop Waiting and Make the Call
Look — some soreness after exercise is normal. Your body adapts, your muscles get stronger, and the next morning’s stiffness is part of the process. But there’s a difference between “I worked out and I can feel it” and “something is wrong.”
Here are signs that it’s time to stop waiting and get evaluated:
- Pain that doesn’t improve after 48 to 72 hours of rest
- Swelling, bruising, or visible deformity around a joint
- Pain that gets worse with continued activity rather than loosening up
- A pop, snap, or tearing sensation at the time of injury
- Weakness in a limb, or the feeling that a joint “gave out”
- Pain that’s waking you up at night
None of those things get better on their own with ice and hope. They need a real evaluation by a physician who understands musculoskeletal injuries — and that’s exactly what we do.
One Practice, Every Specialty You Need
Here’s what sets us apart from the typical “see your regular doctor and they’ll refer you somewhere” situation most people are used to.
We have everything under one roof. Orthopaedic surgeons. Chiropractors. Physical therapists. A physiatrist specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Pain management specialists. When you come to us with a sports injury, your care isn’t fragmented across three offices and four appointments. Our physicians collaborate on your condition, your treatment plan, and your recovery — together, in the same building.
That means fewer delays. Fewer gaps in communication. Faster, smarter care that treats you as a whole person, not a body part.
And before you wonder — yes, we accept most insurance plans, including Medicare, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Aetna. We also offer a free insurance verification by phone so you know what you’re working with before your first appointment.
This Spring, Don’t Let an Injury Bench You
You waited all winter for this. The warm weather, the longer days, the chance to finally move and breathe outside again. Don’t let a preventable injury — or worse, an ignored injury — take that from you.
If something doesn’t feel right, trust that instinct. Early treatment almost always means faster recovery. Our team is here, we are ready, and we genuinely want to see you get back to doing the things you love.
Call us at 973-483-2277. Same location, right in Newark — 554 Bloomfield Avenue. We’re here Monday through Friday, and we make the process as simple as possible from the moment you call.
Spring is too good to spend it on the sidelines.